The Question and The Answer
by fanficteacher
Summary: This story takes place after Ignite Me. The war is over and Juliette and Warner are trying to piece things back together. Probably a one-shot of some Juliette/Warner.


**I am having a bit of a problem with formatting this story. If you see the entire story as one block of text, I am sorry. That is not what I intended and have tried to fix it. If you are seeing the story in paragraph format, great - I fixed it!**

**Thanks for reading. Enjoy.**

So much has changed in the months after the war. Warner is in charge for now as we try and piece back together Sector 45. Convincing everyone that this way of life will be better, hasn't been hard. When I am out and busying myself with the work of the Sector, it is hard for me to ignore the glances and looks I get from everyone. I am seen as a savior of sorts for them. I am helping to turn their lives around and provide them with a positive place to live and raise their children. It is a hard realization to accept. I imagine that anyone in my position would have done the same thing, but I know this isn't the truth. I try to ignore the reverence that I am greeted with wherever I go yet still be appreciative and nice.

The first thing we established under our new leadership was the new way of living. Every individual works for the Sector. There are childcare workers, farmers, builders, textile workers, sanitation crews, teachers, etc. Everyone has a job to attend to and each person is paid for their service. Other than the position Warner now holds (which I will move into, eventually), everyone has an equal share of the wealth. Everyone can work because the children are cared for. All work is done during the day and weekends are free. Everyone has enough to eat and we are working to be a sustainable Sector so we won't have to rely on anyone else. This model seems to be working out and the Sector is once again thriving.

With all the newness around us, we still try to keep some of our old lives so we don't lose who we were before the war. Along with all of my Omega Point friends, we still meet to work out together in Warner's training room. We can laugh, talk about old times and just enjoy each other without the hassles of Sector business. This makes me happy as I can have some time to train with Kenji. Things are still a bit weird between me and Adam, even though he and Warner have accepted that they are family. James is thrilled with the new arrangement. Thankfully, I still have Kenji to keep things light and interesting.

"Kenji, I am not going to give you any details."

"J, come on. I'm not asking for much here. Just give me something. Do you know how long it has been since I have gotten any action? I don't even know what it's like any more. Let me live vicariously through you. Come on."

"Absolutely not! I am not going to tell you anything about my sex life with Warner."

"Look J, I know this whole friends thing is new to you, but this is what friends do. They tell each other stuff about their personal lives. Like, not every detail, but some of the good stuff. So...how is it? You know, the sex?"

"Kenji!"

"Okay, how about this one. How many girls has Warner been with?"

"Um, I have no idea and I don't care."

"What do you mean you don't know? That's a conversation you have when you first start dating someone. You get their number so you know what you're in for. And what do you mean you don't care?"

Panic starts to build inside of me. What if Warner has been with lots of girls before me? Would that even matter? All of a sudden, I am feeling self-conscious like I have never felt before. How many women has he seen naked? Why am I worried about this? Warner practically worships me.

"Well, we didn't start out as a traditional couple, I guess, so it never came up. Why should I even care about it? It doesn't affect us."

"Girl, it definitely affects you. What if he had mind blowing sex with someone and that is the expectation he has? What if his number is so high, you guys aren't really sexually matched up. I mean, no offense, but you don't have much experience, right?"

"How could I have much experience? Before a few months ago, no one could touch me. That doesn't really help in the intimacy department."

"So, you didn't get down and dirty with Adam?"

"Kenji, we are done with this conversation. Seriously. Let's keep working out."

"Geez, you're like a vault. Whatever. See if I tell you anything when I finally hook up with someone."

I have stopped listening. I don't know why I am letting it bother me, but the fact that I know very little about Warner's past intimate history, makes me aware of how little we really know each other. What am I saying? We know each other better than anyone, yet there is still so much we don't know. I decide to put it out of my mind. This really isn't that important.

Unfortunately, I can't ignore the nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach. I am all nerves when Warner and I are alone after dinner.

"How was your day Love? Did you do anything exciting?" he asks as he is undressing for bed. I could watch this for the rest of my life and die happy.

I give him the run-down of my typical day and leave out the conversation I had with Kenji. When I ask him about his day and the business he conducted, he blows me off.

He waves his hand around as if to say forget about it. "It was just more of the same. Nothing of consequence. I will need to go through some things with you tomorrow though. So, you will have to be present for some meetings and we will be discussing the housing situation as well. I missed you today; I didn't get to see you all day." With this final statement, he starts sauntering over to where I am sitting on our bed. He is wearing nothing but his boxer briefs and the view is incredible. "I didn't feel close enough to you today and I want to remedy that situation Love." The gleam in his eye as he says this makes the butterflies in my stomach dance.

I am rendered momentarily speechless. I manage to squeak out, "what did you have in mind?" just as he reaches me on the bed.

He takes my face in his hands, leans down and gently kisses me on the lips. "Oh, I think we can think of something, don't you?"

As he kisses both of my cheeks, all I can do is nod. I don't know why I feel so nervous tonight; we have been together many times, but for some reason, Kenji's questions are stuck in my mind.

He starts to lower me onto the bed, then stops, looks at me and asks, "why are you nervous?"

Of course, he has noticed. I wish he could just ignore my emotions from time to time. I feel the blush heat up my cheeks. He gives me a quizzical look and I try to distract him by saying, "it's nothing, I just really want you." That's all the distraction needed. He is on top of me kissing every part of my exposed skin. When that isn't good enough for him, he pulls my arms so I am sitting up and he pulls the night shirt over my head. He is on top me, all around me, mouth and hands exploring and I am losing control. Before I can stop myself, I hear myself say something. "Aaron, can I ask you a question?"

"You know you can ask me anything Love." He doesn't stop kissing my body or exploring with his hands as I try to assemble the question in my mind. The ragged breathing escaping my mouth is embarrassing. Just as I am going to forget the question, he moves his mouth up to my ear and whispers, "what is it? What do you want to know?" He pulls my earlobe into his mouth and gently bites down. I nearly come undone. I have to get this question out of my mouth before it's too late.

All of a sudden, in a rush of breath, the question escapes from my lips, "how many women have you been with?" He stills on top of me and after a beat of silence, he looks up at my eyes.

The expression on his face is unreadable. I think I see panic behind his eyes but I also see amusement. Oh this is bad. How stupid of me for asking. "Just forget about it," I say and try to persuade him to continue his earlier actions.

"Sweetheart, why do you ask? Why do you want to know?" He has now positioned his body next to mine so he can look down at me. He is no longer on top of me and I miss the closeness of his body. I also miss not having to look directly in his face as we have this discussion.

I bite my bottom lip before answering and his eyebrows pull together in response. "I don't really care, but Kenji had asked me earlier about it and he seemed shocked that I didn't know. So, I got to thinking that perhaps I should know. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I want to die. I can't believe I brought this up. I try to look away but he grabs my chin and forces me to look at him.

"Juliette, I haven't been with many women. Actually, before you, there were only two. Love, I didn't have much time to socialize with anyone and you know how crappy and complicated my life was. I wasn't willing to let anyone in to see that side of me. So, the two women I was with before you were casual affairs and didn't last long."

Oh. And then as if he is reading my worries and my thoughts, he leans his face down so it is closer to me. I can feel his breath tickling my eyelashes as he says, "Love, it has always been you. I have been waiting for you for my whole life. They were distractions from my awful, empty life, but you, you are my life. You are everything I have ever wanted and you are the only thing I will ever want. Please, don't doubt yourself or our connection. You give me strength that I couldn't imagine having before I met you. And," he says with a wicked gleam in his eye, "you turn me on more than I ever thought possible. I never want to leave your arms. You do things to me that I never imagined. No past relationship could have ever prepared me for you. You are the sun, moon and stars all rolled up in one. You are the only one I have ever loved and I will love you for the rest of my life."

I am rendered speechless. In this moment, all I want is him. The way he loves me is incredible and I feel guilty because I just can't believe that I will ever deserve him. I let my body say the things my mouth is incapable of. I show him with my hands, my touch, and with my mouth just how much I love him and how much I need him. As we both reach our release and cry out each other's names, it hits me just how perfect life seems to be right now. We no longer have a war looming over our heads and each moment together doesn't feel like our last. However, I can't help but wonder how long it will be like this; how long with this peace last?


End file.
